Microhabitat selection of the poorly known lizard Tropidurus lagunablanca (Squamata: Tropiduridae) in the Pantanal, Brazil

Author(s)

Ronildo Alves Benício ^[1] ; Daniel Cunha Passos ^[2] ; Abraham Mencía ^[3] ; Zaida Ortega ^[4]

Affiliation

^[1] Universidade Regional do Cariri. Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas - Brasil

^[2] Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido. Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde. Departamento de Biociências - Brasil

^[3] Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul. Instituto de Biociências. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal - Brasil

^[4] Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul. Instituto de Biociências. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação - Brasil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo); v. 61, 2021-04-16.

Abstract

Abstract Understanding how different environmental factors influence species occurrence is a key issue to address the study of natural populations. However, there is a lack of knowledge on how local traits influence the microhabitat use of tropical arboreal lizards. Here, we investigated the microhabitat selection of the poorly known lizard Tropidurus lagunablanca (Squamata: Tropiduridae) and evaluated how environmental microhabitat features influence animal’s presence. We used a Resource Selection Function approach, in a case/control design where we analyzed the effect of substrate temperature and tree’s diameter at breast height (DBH) in the probability of presence of lizards using mixed Conditional Logistic Regression. We found that T. lagunablanca uses trees with DBH from 0.40 m to 4 m and substrate temperatures ranging from 25.9°C to 42°C. Moreover, we showed that thickness of the trees and substrate temperatures significantly increased the probability of presence of T. lagunablanca individuals, being the probability of presence higher than 50% for trees up to 1.5 m DBH and temperature of substrate up to 37.5°C. Our study probed that T. lagunablanca individuals choose trees non-randomly, selecting thicker and warmer tree trunks. This information advances the knowledge of the spatial ecology of Neotropical arboreal lizards and is relevant for conservation, putting an emphasis on preserving native vegetation in the Pantanal. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/11821-0 - HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY EFFECTS ON PHYLOGENETIC DISTRIBUTION OF ANURAN IN THE ATLANTIC FOREST
• Grantee: Ronildo Alves Benício
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate